Track & Field Headline

Saturday June 8, 2013Champions Again: Florida Men's Track and Field Uses Dramatic Finish to Share NCAA Title with Texas A&M

The University of Florida men’s track and field team are
national champions again.

The Gators used a dramatic finish to share the 2013 NCAA
crown with Texas A&M (53 points) in front of a packed house at famed
Hayward Field. This is the 31st national championship in University of Florida
athletics history and the fifth team title for the UF men’s track and field
program since 2010 – three indoor titles (2010-12) and two outdoor (2012-13).

This is the second NCAA title for the University of Florida
this year, with women’s gymnastics claiming its first NCAA Championship in
April. The Gators are the first team since 1978 (UTEP, UCLA) to share an NCAA
outdoor title and this is just the fourth time in NCAA history a tie has
occurred.

“I’m just so proud…proud of our guys, my coaching and
support staff, and everyone associated with the program,” Florida head coach Mike
Holloway said. “The big thing is that we recruit these guys and expect them
to go out there and compete for national championships. I’m extremely proud of
them. No one gave us a chance. I watched the replays of ESPN this weekend and
they didn’t even mention the Gators. I told the guys to just keep fighting, be
who we are and do what we do.”

Trailing Texas A&M by nine points heading into the final
event, the Gators, with a lineup of Najee Glass (Woodbridge, N.J.), Hugh
Graham, Jr. (Miami, Fla.), Dedric Dukes (Miami, Fla.) and Arman
Hall (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), claimed the 4x400-meter relay title (3:01.34)
and the 10 points that came along with it. A&M – in the same race – dropped
the baton but rebounded to finish eighth, giving them one point and putting
them in a tie for the national title with the Gators.

“It felt great to bring it home for the win,” Hall said. “I
knew Najee, Hugh and Dedric were going to put me out there in front and all I
would have to do is hold the lead and extend it, if I had to. I knew people
would doubt (the 4x4) because we’re so young and it’s such a big stage, but our
coaches had faith in us, our teammates had faith in us and we had faith in
ourselves. That’s all that matters.

“I knew when I watched the guys when the title last year
that I wanted to come to Florida and help the Gators win again. After winning
the 4x4, placing in the 400 and winning the team title…I want more. This is an
amazing feeling and I want to feel it again.”

The 4x400-meter relay crown is just the second in program history
with the first coming last year in another team title-clinching victory.

The Gator men’s 4x100-meter relay was first on the track
Saturday and started things off right, capturing the fifth 4x1 NCAA outdoor crown
in program history. The foursome of freshman Antwan Wright (Riviera
Beach, Fla.), Graham, Jr., senior Leonardo Seymore (Palm Beach Gardens,
Fla.) and Dukes got it done for the Gators, edging out runner-up Alabama by a hundredth
of a second, 38.53 to 38.54.

“It was amazing,” Graham, Jr. said. “I knew the title was on
the line, so I just ran my hardest and we came out on top. All the handoffs
were smooth and down the backstretch, I knew Dedric was one of the best guys
out there and he would get it done for us.

“Winning the team title is great,” Graham, Jr. continued.”
When I came here to Florida, my goal was to win national championships. It’s
what everyone comes here for. This is my third team title and it’s great to win
again. The best decision I’ve made in my life was coming to Florida.”

Heading into the NCAA Championships, Florida’s men’s 4x1 was
seeded third and was using the lineup of Wright, Graham, Jr., Seymore and Dukes
for just the second time in 2013.

“I never doubted that group,” Holloway said. “We didn’t have
a lot of time with them but I believed in them and they believed in themselves.
Our leadoff man (Antwan Wright) is phenomenal. The first time they ran together
was prelims two weeks ago after injuries during the season to different
athletes. Kudos to Eddie Lovett and Arman Hall for stepping in during the
season while we got everyone healthy.”

Defending his NCAA Championship was senior triple jumper Omar
Craddock (Killeen, Texas), who became the first Gator since Olympic gold
medalist Christian Taylor to win back-to-back titles in the event (2010,
11). Florida has captured eight combined men’s triple jump national crowns in
the last five years.

“Today was huge,” Craddock said. “My plan for today was to
defend my title and get the A standard for Worlds this summer. I did one of
those and there’s time for the other. I wanted to get 10 points for my team and
I did that. I wanted my first jump to motivate Eddie and the relays, and I
think I helped.”

Craddock led the competition from the get-go, leaping an
all-conditions season’s best of 16.80m/55-1.50 (+2.7) on his opening jump.
Craddock kept the momentum going, hitting the mark again on his second jump of
the finals. With the title already in his pocket, Craddock saved the best for
last, leaping a new personal best of 16.92m/55-6.25 (+1.9) to improve his
standing at third all-time in Florida program history and put the Gators within
striking distance of the Aggies in the team race, down 52-43.

“Being here at Florida has meant so much,” Craddock finished.
“I’m so grateful, fortunate and glad to have been granted the opportunity to be
at Florida and train with some of the best jumpers in NCAA history, like
Christian, Will and now, Marquis. I’m so proud to have competed with the ‘Florida’
name across my chest. I’ll never forget the memories I’ve created, the
teammates I’ve trained with and the chance to have been a part of history.”

“Going into the day, the goal was to try to put up another
30 or 35 points,” Holloway noted. “We won three events and we were second in
another. We had a small blip with Marquis in the triple jump, which wasn’t for
a lack of trying, but we picked each other up. At the end of the day, we’re a
family.”

Another runner-up finish was on the women’s side, as junior Cory
McGee (Pass Christian, Miss.) turned in her best career finish in the
Orange and Blue with a second-place performance in the women’s 1,500 meters.
McGee ran a strong race and led for the final lap before getting passed with 50
meters to go. This was McGee’s third career final and she improved upon her
previous finishes (2011 – 10th, 2012 – sixth). With her eight points in the
women’s 1,500 and the women’s 4x400-meter relay scoring a point, the Florida
women finished tied for 11th with 25 points

The NCAA Championships will re-air multiple times in the
coming weeks, with the Championship Saturday replay airing next on ESPNU
Saturday, June 9 at 9 a.m. ET.